New Townhomes Proposed for 8th Street in Downtown St. Pete
/8th Street Townhomes will be just the latest project proposed for the 8th Street corridor in St. Petersburg, FL
In a sign of confidence in the St. Pete market, a veteran real estate developer is launching a townhome development on 8th Street North in Downtown St. Pete. Located at Burlington Avenue and 8th Street, just a block from Mirror Lake, the project will be appropriately named the 8th Street Townhomes.
The development is being led by investor George Gower, who developed townhomes on Fareham Place near Beach Drive in the late 1990’s. At the time, developing new residential units in Downtown St. Pete was pretty rare. In a recent call with St. Pete Rising, Gower describes Downtown St. Pete in the 1990’s as “sleepy” and says his Fareham Place project was “one of the first new residential developments in downtown in 15 years.”
Gower developed the townhomes at Fareham Place and 1st Street in the late 1990’s.
Gower saw the Fareham Place project’s location near Beach Drive and the downtown waterfront park system as a strength and sees many similarities to that project and his new 8th Street project.
While 8th Street is half a mile west from Fareham Place, he believes the area is prime for new redevelopment and is located within proximity to retail. “Publix opening up down the road is a big sign of confidence for the area,” Gower says, referencing a new Publix Supermarket which opened four blocks south of the site in 2017.
Gower’s 8th Street Townhomes project will feature five units. Each townhome will be two stories and 1,600 square feet with between two or three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. A unique aspect of the units is that each home will feature a 340 square foot backyard area, which is large enough for a private plunge pool. Each unit will also have a detached single car parking garage.
“The private backyard areas should be a very attractive feature,” says Gower “We’re seeing more young families move into downtown areas and they often have pets. Having a backyard in the middle of it all can be a big perk.” While some new townhome developments in Downtown St. Pete feature patios or rooftop decks, very few feature backyard areas.
Townhomes in Downtown St. Pete have done particularly well in recent years with young families and empty nesters alike flocking to new townhome developments. And while townhome projects have popped up all over downtown, the 8th Street corridor has seen more than its fair share.
The Mirror, Burlington Townhomes, Saint James Townhomes, and the Reflection have all been proposed or completed along 8th Street in recent years.
Most recently, the Saint James Townhomes project, which was developed by J2 Developers, was completed and sold out. Other projects like the Burlington Townhomes, the Mirror, and SOHO of St. Pete are under construction with sales underway. Additionally, earlier this year, St. Pete Rising exclusively reported on the Reflection condominium tower planned two blocks north of the 8th Street Townhomes site which is expected to launch sales later this year.
When all these projects are completed, 8th Street will look drastically different than what it looks like today, with hundreds of new residential units and the potential for new retail as well. Pricing for the units at 8th Street Townhomes begins at $525,000 and, if all goes according to plan, construction is expected later this year.
For more information on 8th Street Townhomes, visit their website.
